A Derry woman was arrested Tuesday, June 25, and remains in the Rockingham County House of Correction after concerned citizens and police found unattended children locked in her vehicle at the Derry Walmart Supercenter.
A press release from Derry Police Capt. Vern Thomas noted that Marie Dennis, 33, was arrested after citizens called 911 to report two young children locked in a vehicle at the store on Ashleigh Drive. Upon arrival, Thomas wrote, police officers found children age 2 and 3 unattended, with a temperature of 90 degrees. The vehicle was parked in an un-shaded area, with windows open less than one inch, Thomas wrote.
Officers found several “concerned citizens” clustered around a green 2001 Mazda Tribute SUV, Thomas wrote. The witnesses reported that the children had been in the car for approximately 20 minutes.
Thomas continued, “Officers noted that the children appeared to be in distress due to the temperature within the vehicle. They were crying, sweating, and had a red color to their faces. As emergency responders worked to gain entry to the vehicle, Marie Dennis approached them from the store. She unlocked the doors with a key and medics removed the children to a waiting ambulance. The Derry Fire Department began treating the children on scene. They were subsequently transported to the Parkland Medical Center, where they were both treated for heat exhaustion and later released to a caretaker.”
Dennis was placed under arrest. She struggled with officers, Thomas said.
Dennis lives at 42 Pond Road. At arraignment June 26, her charges were two counts of second degree assault, a class B felony; two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor; and one count of resisting arrest, also a misdemeanor. Bail was set at $5,000, cash or surety, and she was directed to have no unsupervised contact with children under 18.
